Obesity is a medical condition that is reaching epidemic proportions among humans in a number of countries throughout the world. It is a condition that is also associated with or induces other diseases or conditions that disrupt life activities and lifestyles. Obesity is recognized as a serious risk factor for other diseases and conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and arteriosclerosis. It is also known that increased body weight due to obesity can place a burden on joints, such as knee joints, causing arthritis, pain, and stiffness.
Because overeating and obesity have become such a problem in the general population, many individuals are now interested in losing weight, reducing weight, and maintaining a healthy body weight and desirable lifestyle. One approach to treating obesity is to reduce food intake and/or hyperlipidemia. It has been suggested that molecules which are developed to prevent the accumulation of triglyceride would not only reduce obesity but also have the additional beneficial effect of reducing insulin resistance, a primary factor contributing to the development of diabetes.
Acyl coenzyme A: diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT-1) is one of two known DGAT enzymes that catalyze the final step in mammalian triglyceride synthesis. DGAT-1 is an enzyme that is implicated in the development of both diabetes and insulin resistance. Studies of DGAT-1 deficient mice show that DGAT-1 deficiency protects against insulin resistance and obesity, see Chen, H. C. et al., J Clin Invest., 109(8), 1049-1055 (2002). Therefore, inhibitors of DGAT-1 should be useful for the treatment of metabolic disorders, e.g. obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and insulin resistance syndrome (or metabolic syndrome) and other associated or related diseases and conditions.